Amber's ginormous gown problems
by jolly roger brat
Summary: Summary: Co-written with crafordbrian17. Amber's new gown causes no end of trouble for herself, James, and Sofia when they're getting ready to go to a party. The return trip poses the same problems.


A new day had begun in the castle, and Sofia was in Amber's room with her. Amber was especially excited, since she had gotten a new dress to wear to Hildegard's upcoming party.

"Amber, are you sure you'll be able to move in this?" Sofia asked. " From what I can see, the skirt looks like it's two yards wide, which is wider than your normal dresses."

"Oh, Sofia, you worry too much," Amber smiled. "I've worn bigger and fancier dresses than this, believe me!"

Sofia could automatically tell that Amber was lying. This was the biggest, fanciest gown she'd ever seen her sister wear in all the time she'd lived in the castle. "Amber, you look like you can hardly move in that dress. I don't even think you can make it through the door."

"Okay, so maybe I do need a little help getting out the door," Amber admitted. "I've got fuzz under the skirt so in case you do slip, you don't sink too far."

"Good idea, and at least if I do fall, I'll land on something soft," Sofia agreed, running her hand along the taffeta material.

"Oh, Sofia, you'll be fine," Amber smiled as she made her way to the door.

Amber started to go through the door, but it turned out that Sofia's suspicions were right. Amber's skirt was so big that she became stuck in the doorway. "Sofia, help!"

"I'm not going to gloat about this, Amber, but I warned you!" Sofia muttered as she came up to her. She raised her voice. "Hold still. I'll get you out. And maybe we can talk about getting you a dress with a smaller skirt so you can actually move, since Hildegard's parties usually include dancing!"

"Thanks. And also thanks for not saying 'I told you so', Sofia," Amber managed a smile before she braced herself.

"You can thank me when we get you out," Sofia replied as she began pushing. "Amber, when are you going to learn that bigger's not always better? Didn't the incident with the Sweetheart Pies teach you anything?"

"Not to take over someone's event?" Amber suggested.

"Well, that too!" Sofia agreed, smiling a little.

Suddenly, Sofia looked up and saw James approaching. "James! Can you help us?"

"Sure, Sof," James agreed as he came up to them, but couldn't help but stare at the sight in front of him. "Amber, are you okay?"

"I will be when I get out of this doorway," Amber sighed.

"Don't worry; I think I have an idea," James assured her. "I just need to get Rex, and a few little things to help me."

Sofia and Amber waited for a few minutes, then watched as James came back with a cushion, a bag of Merlin's Blocks, a rope, and his dog Rex.

"James, what are you doing?" Amber asked.

"An experiment," James grinned as he set the blocks and cushion up. "Here," he handed the rope to Amber and hopped on the cushion, which was floating in the air with the help of the Merlin's Blocks. He tied the other end of the rope to Rex's collar. "Amber, hold onto the rope. Sof, you push Amber as hard as you can when I give the signal."

"Okay," Sofia agreed. "Ready, everyone?"

"Ready!" Amber nodded.

"Go, Rex!" James called, and Rex ran off.

Sofia took a running start, and when she came up to Amber, she pushed as hard as she could, keeping her feet on the ground so she wouldn't slip. She pushed with the flats of her hands, her shoulders, and her back. She knew some combination of that had to work. All of her work must have paid off, since she suddenly felt Amber fly out. Thanks to James' brilliant idea with the Merlin's Blocks, and her assistance, Amber was freed from the doorway.

"Thank you, Sofia! Thank you, James! And thank you too, Rex!" Amber smiled.

"No problem. Now let me put this stuff away, and we'll all be ready for Hildegard's party," James smiled.

A few minutes later, James came back. "Amber, are you sure you want to wear that dress?" he asked. "I really think you should change into something with a smaller skirt, since Sofia gave Hildegard permission to have her party in her garden, and you know how narrow that door is."

"Oh, James, you worry too much," Amber smiled. "I can manage this dress."

"If you say so," Sofia sighed, but she went back to Amber's room and found a dress with a smaller skirt, since she had a feeling that Amber would be needing it.

Sofia, James, and Amber made their way to another doorway. To Sofia and James' dismay, this door was even smaller than Amber's bedroom door.

However, Amber was determined to get through it. "I'll be fine," she assured them. "I don't need that dress you brought with you."

"Better safe than sorry, Amber," Sofia warned, but her suspicions were soon confirmed. Amber's taffeta skirt had once again prevented her from going through it.

Sofia, James, and Amber finally arrived at the door that led to Sofia's secret garden. "Amber, I really think you should change into that dress that Sofia brought," James suggested. "The last time we were here, we measured the door. It's 1 1/4 feet tall, and a foot wide. According to what Sof told me, your dress is two yards wide, and I've got a feeling that you're going to get stuck again. And you don't have to worry," he added, "I'll go around the corner, and Sofia can help you change."

"That's very nice of you, James, but I can manage..." Amber smiled as she went through the door, but got stuck again. "Then again..."

"Well, how do we get her out now?" James asked. "Rex isn't here, and we don't have any more Merlin's Blocks or cushions with us."

"Amber, we warned you about this," Sofia scolded as they tried to push her through the door, but she wouldn't budge. She had to raise her voice over the rustling of the fabric of Amber's dress. "Your dress is much too big! We told you to change it, but you never listened. Now your dress is ruining your entrance!"

"We're going to have to cut that skirt off, Amber," James agreed, holding up a pair of scissors he'd found in Amber's room earlier. "But at least we brought a different dress for you!"

Amber sighed. Once again, her 'bigger is better' attitude had eclipsed her better judgment. "All right. Do it. But James..."

"I know," James assured her, "I won't look while you're changing."

"Or maybe we could try to push her through the door one more time before we cut her out," Sofia suggested before James could kneel next to his sister. "The dress really is pretty. I've never felt taffeta before, even if it does crinkle too much. Still, it would be a shame to ruin it, even after everything we went through to get this far."

"Okay, but if this doesn't work, we're going to have to cut her out of it," James sighed as he backed away.

"Or we could try something else. Amber, you're going to have to crawl through the door," Sofia suggested as James put the scissors down and before he could start running. "Unfortunately, we're not going to be able to push you back."

"Good idea, Sof, but now you tell me," James muttered, but he couldn't help but smirk as he saw Amber get down and start crawling. He thought it looked like a big pillow being stuffed through a tight hole.

"James, please don't laugh at this," Amber pleaded, seeing James smirk.

"Amber's right," Sofia agreed. "Let's be a little nicer about this."

James tried not to laugh anymore as he helped Sofia start pushing Amber through the doorway again. He had an image of a large pillow being stuffed through a tight space as Amber tried to move forward, her dress still rustling around them. "You're right, Sof," he smiled. "So what if Amber's skirt looks like a pillow that we're trying to move through a little space? She's more important."

"Just wait til we're back home, James, and I'll show you a pillow!" Amber frowned.

Hildegard's party went off without any more problems. Nobody even noticed Amber's wild hair and disheveled appearance. However, she did receive a few compliments on her dress, even if it was torn and covered in dirt and grass.

When they were ready to leave, Sofia said, "Amber, before we go, will you _please_ change your dress? I've kept your other one with me the whole time, and we certainly don't want a repeat of what we went through to get you here."

"Sofia, I'll be fine," Amber assured her, "I'm not going to let one little fashion faux pas ruin this day..." She had barely finished her sentence when she became stuck in the doorway again. "Sofia, James, little help?"

"I've got the scissors," James sighed, facepalming himself behind her back.

"I've got your new dress," Sofia added.

"James, please don't cut my dress up," Amber pleaded, "I know now that it's too big and the skirt's too wide, but I really do like it. Can't you and Sofia just do what you did before, the running up to me and pushing me out?"

"That usually does work, James," Sofia agreed. "But when we get up to the castle, Amber, won't you _please_ put your normal dress on?"

"I will, Sofia," Amber promised.

"All right," James agreed. "But Amber, you've got to promise me you'll never wear a dress like this again! Contrary to what you think, bigger is not always better!"

"I promise," Amber agreed as Sofia started pushing on her backside again, since she had to crawl to get through the small space again.

"Not...good enough, Amber," Sofia grunted as she saw James run up and start pushing on Amber. She frowned when she heard the material rustling again every time Amber moved. "I want...that promise...in writing!"

"Me too!" James added, struggling against the cushion-like dress, shuddering as he was exposed to the rustling skirt yet again. "And Amber...you're writing that...by yourself! I'll help you...with spelling, but...that's...it!"

With that last word, and a mighty shove from both siblings, Amber was free at last.

James went off to give the girls some privacy while Sofia helped Amber change. "Can I come back now?" he asked a few minutes later.

"Yes, James, I've got my other dress on," Amber showed him the pile of stained taffeta that had been the cause of all their trouble. "And you're absolutely right; I'm never going to wear a dress like that again!"


End file.
